


I'll Search the Universe...s

by Jongdaesdimple



Series: Guardian Jongdae [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Guardian Angels, Alternate Universe - Parents, Divorce, Fluff, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Marriage, Single Parents, also a not AU (exo as a exo the group), like a ton of AUs that's what this is about, these tags suck sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:48:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24283882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jongdaesdimple/pseuds/Jongdaesdimple
Summary: Baekhyun was 27 years old on December 24th when his husband took off his wedding band and asked for a divorce. But a little guardian angel named Jongdae came to help by sending Baekhyun into different universes to teach him a lesson. Will Baekhyun be able to fix his ways and his marriage?
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Series: Guardian Jongdae [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1874515
Comments: 6
Kudos: 73





	I'll Search the Universe...s

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in December 2019 cause that's when I started writing it before I abandoned it. Merry Christmas in May I guess.

Baekhyun was 27 years old on December 24th when his husband took off his wedding band and asked for a divorce. 

He didn’t fight it. It’s not that he doesn’t love his husband because he certainly does but Chanyeol made valid points. Baekhyun’s always at work and they hardly see each other. Hell, the last time they spent over an hour awake together all they did was watch a movie, they barely talked. 

The last straw was Baekhyun agreeing to work on Christmas, a Christmas Baekhyun promised to spend with Chanyeol. Unlike the previous year, Baekhyun was just going to stay home and enjoy the company of his husband. But when his boss called and told him they had an emergency meeting with a huge client they’d been trying to get for months, Baekhyun agreed to come in the next day. 

It was December 24th when Baekhyun gave his husband an early Christmas gift: freedom. 

Baekhyun doesn’t want to leave him but he does want what’s best for Chanyeol and that’s not Baekhyun. After telling Chanyeol he was ok with the divorce, Baekhyun locks himself in the guest bedroom and cries as quietly as he can because he doesn’t want Chanyeol feeling bad for him. Baekhyun deserves this. Baekhyun wonders if there was any way he could fix this but every solution where Chanyeol is happy means Baekhyun lets him go. 

“Hey there” A voice says from inside the room. 

Baekhyun stops crying momentarily out of shock. He pulls his face out of the pillow and looks towards the end of the bed. Just in front of the bed, a glowing... person for lack of a better word is floating smiling at Baekhyun. 

“W-who are you?” Baekhyun stutters feeling panic set in. 

“You can call me Jongdae” Jongdae answers “and before you ask, I’m sort of like an angel but I’m not perfect or anything like that. I just do my part to help struggling earthlings. It’s not often I get to work with humans, usually only dogs or cats. Actually you're my first human.”

“What?” Baekhyun says still not sure what to do at all, he’s hallucinating, right? Did someone put something in his coffee before he left work?

“Ah sorry let me start over, I’m kind of new at this, pets don't talk” Jongdae laughs “I’m here to help you fix the mess you’ve created with Chanyeol.”

“You know Chanyeol?” Baekhyun regrets asking right after the words leave his mouth, obviously, he knows Chanyeol he’s a floating glowing angel. 

“Yes, and I know all about your situation.” Jongdae nods “It’s not often humans ask for a divorce without falling out of love. It’s also incredibly tragic so let’s go ahead and stop that from happening.”

“How?” Baekhyun asks. 

“I’ve thought about this a lot” Jongdae answers “The only solution is for you to fix your behaviour, but you won’t until you realize what you’ve lost and it will be too late by then so I’ve created a brilliant plan.”

“What is it?” Baekhyun says, desperately wanting to know how he can salvage his marriage. 

“For it to work, I can’t tell you” Jongdae answers “Just don’t be mad that it’s a bit overdone, Charles Dickens stole it from us you know.”

“What?” Baekhyun says not understanding the link. 

“Sleep!” Jongdae says before snapping his fingers. 

Baekhyun tries to fight the overwhelming feeling of drifting off to sleep but it’s no use. Within seconds Baekhyun is plunged into a deep state of relaxation. 

~=+•+=~

Baekhyun wakes up to the same dark night sky he fell asleep during. He rubs his eyes and gets up out of his bed, except he’s not in the guest bedroom. He’s in the master bedroom he shares with Chanyeol. Did Chanyeol bring him here while he was sleeping? Did the angel do his job? Are they happy again?

“DADDY!” Baekhyun hears a young voice call. 

A 4 or 5-year-old girl in a colourful onesie runs into the room and jumps onto his bed. She puts down the bear she was holding, opting instead to hug Baekhyun. 

“I had a bad dream” She says squeezing Baekhyun as hard as she can “There was a huge snake and it grabbed my foot and dragged me into its cave! I t-think it w-was going to e-eat me!”

“Don’t be silly” Baekhyun says trying to comfort the child “Snakes can’t grab you! They don’t have arms!”

“Oh” the girl answers, seeming to realize the logical mistake in her nightmare “It was still really scary.”

“Dreams can be really scary” Baekhyun answers as he realizes he’s probably dreaming right now “but they can’t hurt you, they are only dreams.”

“Can I sleep with you, daddy?” The little girl asks before letting go of Baekhyun to look at his face. 

Daddy? He’s this little girl’s father?

“Of course you can” Baekhyun says trying to hide his surprise “I’m just going to go to the bathroom but I’ll be right back.”

“NO” his daughter yells grabbing his arm “Don’t leave me alone.”

“Ok” Baekhyun says “We’ll just go back to sleep then, but we won’t have nightmares, ok?”

“Good” his daughter responds with a smile “That way you won’t wake up crying.”

Before Baekhyun has a chance to ask what she means she’s already grabbed her bear and tucked herself under the sheets. 

“Sing me a lullaby please” she asks cutely with her eyes closed. 

Baekhyun hums the first lullaby he can think of which is rock-a-bye-baby. After 15 minutes, Baekhyun is sure the little girl is asleep so he sneaks out of the room with his phone.

Everything looks normal, his lock screen is him and Chanyeol. The only weird thing is the date. 12th of October. Why wouldn’t it be the 24th of December? After unlocking his phone Baekhyun notices his home screen is a picture of his daughter playing in the park. 

He looks through his phone and finds a lot of information. He doesn’t work at his law firm, he’s... a baker? Based on his business Instagram he owns his own bakery with Do Kyungsoo. In real life he knows Kyungsoo but not that well, they are work friends at best. 

His daughter’s name is Sooyoung, Park Sooyoung. Looks like they gave her Chanyeol’s last name. Byun-Park would be a bit of a mouth full. She is 4 years old, started school a month ago and already has 4 best friends, all of their parents’ contact information are saved in Baekhyun’s phone.

Baekhyun also notices something else. None of the photos he took in the last 7 months with Chanyeol are on his personal Instagram. Instead, there are only photos of sunsets, food and his daughter along with photos Baekhyun took in real life. Did they get a divorce? Is that what the angel wants him to see? What life as a divorcee is like? It doesn’t seem _that_ bad. 

Once Baekhyun is satisfied with his search through his phone he heads back to bed, it is late and based on the calendar Baekhyun read through, he has to be up pretty early to drop Sooyoung off at school. 

The next morning is hectic. It’s Baekhyun’s first day as a parent and it certainly shows. 

“I need a mandarin in my lunch box!” Sooyoung says grabbing one out of the box “Silly daddy did you bump your head?”

“Honestly I’m not sure” Baekhyun laughs before making sure everything that needs to be in her lunch box is there. Baekhyun quickly checks the time, they’re late. “Shit!”

“Daddy!” Sooyoung yells scandalized.

“I mean shoot” Baekhyun laughs trying to cover his mistake “We need to leave now Sooyoung, go put your shoes on.”

“Ok!” Sooyoung says skipping towards the front entryway. 

Baekhyun soon learns that telling her 4-year-old daughter to put her own shoes on was a mistake. He helps her put on her shoes and her coat, scarf, hat and mitts. She’s really not good at dressing herself which only makes them even later. 

Once they’re in the car driving to her school everything goes a little smoother. Sooyoung’s school is already set in the GPS so all Baekhyun has to do is drive there. Finally, something he’s used to doing. 

Baekhyun takes Sooyoung out of her car seat and gives her one last hug before she runs into the school. After that Baekhyun drives to work and hopes this Kyungsoo isn’t as much of a hardass as the one he knows. 30 minutes late isn’t that late. 

“BYUN” Kyungsoo yells as Baekhyun walks in “YOU BETTER HAVE A DAMN GOOD EXCUSE FOR WHY YOU’RE LATE AND NO SOOYOUNG GETTING A SCRAPE IS NOT ENOUGH!”

“Yeah um” Baekhyun says trying to slip past Kyungsoo to grab an apron “I don’t have an excuse. Just uh tough morning.”

“Oh” Kyungsoo says letting his anger dissipate “Tough like... _tough?_ ” 

“Um yeah” Baekhyun nods, having no idea what Kyungsoo means.

“You’re wearing the ring again” Kyungsoo says, pointing to Baekhyun’s left hand. 

“I just... wanted to” Baekhyun says before looking around the bakery trying to figure out how he’s supposed to do his job. 

“Baekhyun if you’re having a hard time you can go home” Kyungsoo says placing a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder “I can handle this.”

“W-what” Baekhyun says, taken back by Kyungsoo’s soft tone. 

“Everyone has good and bad days” Kyungsoo continues “You’re my best friend, you can tell me if you’re having a bad day. I won’t judge. I just want you to be as happy as you can be... I know it’s hard though. Raising Sooyoung alone.”

“I mean it’s not easy but we’ll be ok” Baekhyun answers “I can always ask for alimony right?”

“What?” Kyungsoo says looking confused “Alimony?”

“Alimony is the money you get when someone asks for a divorce” Baekhyun explains “Since I’m keeping Sooyoung I think I’m entitled to it.”

“Divorce?” Kyungsoo asks “Baekhyun are you still in denial? It’s been 7 months.”

“We didn’t get a divorce?” Baekhyun asks confused if they didn’t get a divorce then... “He- Chanyeol died?”

“Have you been seeing your doctor?” Kyungsoo asks “I mean I’m not a psychologist but I think you should be past denial at this point...”

“C-Chanyeol’s dead?” Baekhyun says feeling his world crashing down, even if this is a dream his feelings are very real and painful “No- how? He- he can’t be.”

“You don’t remember?” Kyungsoo asks “I guess I should tell you... I don’t know if that’s what you need right now but-”

“Tell me” Baekhyun urges “Tell me how he died.”

“He was driving back from work, he was late. Something about a client needing extra work or something and then...” Kyungsoo says before taking a deep breath “Then the drunk driver ran through a red light and hit him.”

“Oh my god” Baekhyun says before sitting on the ground, not trusting his legs anymore.

“I’m sorry you have to relive this Baekhyun” Kyungsoo says with tears forming in his eyes “I don’t know how to help you.”

“It’s just a dream” Baekhyun whispers to himself through his sobs “D-dreams can’t hurt you.”

After Baekhyun is done sobbing on the ground Kyungsoo sends him home, which honestly doesn’t help. Everywhere he looks he sees Chanyeol. The kitchen where they made countless suppers together. The living room where they’ve watched movies until they started making out...

“It’s just a dream” Baekhyun repeats as he starts crying again. 

Except it doesn’t feel like a dream. It’s been hours and hours and he hasn’t woken up. What if this is his life now? He’s stuck here because an angel sent him into this terrible universe. 

The angel. 

“Jongdae!” Baekhyun yells “Calling the dumbass angel!” 

He gets no response. Great, he is stuck here with no angel to save him. Baekhyun spends the rest of the day trying to figure out how to contact Jongdae until his phone alarm goes off. 

“Pick up Sooyoung?” Baekhyun reads off his screen “Oh! Sooyoung!”

Baekhyun rushes out the door to pick up his daughter. 

And it continues like that. Day after day Baekhyun lives his life in this universe. One where Chanyeol died and Baekhyun raises their daughter alone. Baekhyun never does get over the loss of his husband but the pain dulls slightly. At least he has Sooyoung. Who needs Jongdae when Baekhyun has a real angel. 

“Daddy, can we open presents tonight?” Sooyoung asks, sitting under the twinkling Christmas tree. 

“Is it December 25th and no one told me?” Baekhyun laughs. 

“Yerim’s family opens presents on Christmas Eve night!” Sooyoung argues. 

“But we aren’t Yerim’s family are we?” Baekhyun asks “We open presents on Christmas, now come on baby, it’s time for bed.”

“No fair!” Sooyoung cries. 

“If you throw a tantrum you won’t get any bubbles in your bath” Baekhyun says crossing his arms. 

“I’ll be good!” Sooyoung says standing up quickly “I’m sorry!”

“That’s what I thought” Baekhyun smiles. 

Baekhyun puts Sooyoung to bed with little to no trouble. He heads to his own bedroom and remembers the last time it was 24th of December. Chanyeol had asked for a divorce... Baekhyun would gladly take that over what happens in this universe, only he wouldn’t want to give up Sooyoung. She’s too important to him. He can’t choose between Sooyoung and Chanyeol. Not that he’ll get to...

Baekhyun falls asleep with all these thoughts plaguing his mind. 

~=+•+=~

“Baek” Baekhyun hears as he’s waking up “Get up!”

Baekhyun protests, his alarm didn’t go off yet which means he has time before he has to wake Sooyoung up for presents.

“Baekhyun!” The voice repeats in a masculine tone... wait masculine?

Baekhyun opens his eyes and sees a guy beside his bed. 

“Sehun?” Baekhyun says looking at his childhood friend who is for some reason in his house. 

Not his house. Baekhyun looks around the room but doesn’t recognize it.

“How did I get here?” Baekhyun asks not quite understanding his surroundings “Where’s Sooyoung?”

“If you got laid last night she left dude” Sehun laughs “Just get your sorry ass out of bed we have to get to work.”

Baekhyun slowly pieces together that he’s most likely not in the universe he went to sleep in. Which means he has no daughter named Sooyoung and...

“How’s Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asks Sehun, not wasting any time beating around the bush. 

“Um good probably?” Sehun answers a little confused “I mean I haven’t checked his twitter for the past few days, I’d expect you to know more about him.”

So not dead. Chanyeol is not dead. Baekhyun can’t stop the smile from spreading across his face. He can’t wait to see his husband after months of living in a world without him.

“Great let’s go see him” Baekhyun says getting out of his bed “Where is he?”

“You good?” Sehun laughs “We can’t go see Chanyeol, we’re not living in a fanfic Baekhyun.”

“What?” Baekhyun says, not understanding “Isn’t he my husband?”

“I mean in your mind probably” Sehun scoffs “Do you need coffee to properly wake up or something.”

“Yeah coffee” Baekhyun nods realizing he really has no understanding of this universe “Sorry I stayed up late so I’m a little out of it.”

“Figures” Sehun rolls his eyes “Just get ready quickly or the boss will kill you. Don’t think I won’t throw you under the bus because I will.”

Baekhyun quickly learns as much as he can before he leaves with Sehun to go to work. Based off of his phone and laptop Baekhyun learns he’s a blog writer. It’s not really the type of writing Baekhyun is interested in. Mostly talking about what idol wore to the airport or things like that. 

Baekhyun also learns that Chanyeol is an actor, a rather famous one, and Baekhyun has a fansite for him. Just what Baekhyun needs. Chanyeol’s alive but completely out of reach. More than that, Baekhyun lost his daughter. He may only have known her for 2 ish months but he loves her and dealing with not having her around is going to be hard. 

Baekhyun also found the date, 28th of September. If this universe is anything like the last that means he’s stuck here until Christmas. Without his husband. Great. If Jongdae’s plan was to make Baekhyun miss Chanyeol, it worked! So can he be done with it now?

“Baek!” Sehun yells from the entryway “Let’s go!”

“Coming!” 

Baekhyun and Sehun take the subway to work and Baekhyun tries to keep his touristy side to a minimum. He’s never lived in the main part of Seoul. As a kid, he lived 25km away in Bucheon and as an adult, he and Chanyeol lived quite a bit away. He hasn’t seen Namsan tower in a very long time. 

Baekhyun doesn’t know how to write blogs which may end up being a bit of an issue. But it’s not like he knew how to make pastries when he started living in the past universe so... he can learn. He sits down at the desk with his name on it and starts reading his past articles. 

“Byun” Junmyeon says approaching Baekhyun, he knows Junmyeon from his real life. He’s one of Chanyeol’s friends but he’s probably Baekhyun’s coworker here. 

“I have a new job for you but I’m going to need you to keep quiet about it.” Junmyeon whispers.

“What is it?” Baekhyun asks. 

“We scored an interview with Park Chanyeol next Wednesday” Junmyeon answers “I think you should do it. I need someone professional who won’t freak out around a celebrity. I can trust you right?”

“Y-yeah of course” Baekhyun answers, Junmyeon must not know about the fansite Baekhyun manages. 

“Great” Junmyeon smiles “I’ll email you the details.”

“Thanks” Baekhyun smiles back. 

Baekhyun quickly figures out that he can pass off an entire day of looking at previous Chanyeol interviews as “research” and that’s exactly what he does. When he watches the first video Baekhyun can feel tears form in his eyes. He hasn’t heard Chanyeol’s voice in months and wasn’t sure he’d ever hear it again. 

Baekhyun watches hours and hours of Chanyeol answer questions as meaningless as “what’s your favourite ice cream flavour” to questions about what motivated him to pursue acting. Baekhyun does know the answer to most of the questions which means this Chanyeol is very similar to Baekhyun’s Chanyeol. He’s not sure if that’s comforting or not. It’s nice to know Chanyeol is here but he’s not Baekhyun’s. Looks like for however long he’s stuck in this universe, this will be a one-sided love story... Baekhyun’s not really excited for that. 

But Baekhyun will get to talk to him on Wednesday. It may be the only chance Baekhyun gets until Jongdae pities him and lets him switch into a different universe. 

Baekhyun spends the rest of the week crafting perfect questions for his interview with Chanyeol. Combining questions he thought of based purely on his personal experiences with Chanyeol and questions he designed based on his research of the actor side of Chanyeol. 

His research kind of turned Baekhyun into the fan he is in this universe. Baekhyun’s never seen his husband act that well. Watching some of the dramas Chanyeol is in was a crazy emotional rollercoaster for him. Watching Chanyeol laugh and smile makes his heart swell, watching him fall in love with someone else makes him uncomfortable and seeing Chanyeol’s characters suffer is... painful to say the least. The first time Baekhyun saw Chanyeol die on screen he was sent into a fit of sobs. It gave Baekhyun past universe flashbacks which was particularly painful, especially since it reminded him of his life with Sooyoung which he’s been trying to forget just to live his life. 

Baekhyun also continued to post on his fanpage to keep up appearances but he quickly got addicted to it and continued purely because he enjoyed it. Interacting with other fans and his online friends has been really enjoyable. 

After months of not seeing Chanyeol and a week of being one of his biggest fans, Baekhyun can’t tell if he feels like Chanyeol’s husband or just a fan. 

In either case, he’s desperate to see Chanyeol in person and talk to him. So when Wednesday finally comes Baekhyun is overjoyed. 

Baekhyun runs up to the front door and knocks. He’s not sure why Chanyeol wanted to be interviewed at his house but he’s fine with it. As Baekhyun waits for an answer he has a chance to look around and notices the house looks a lot like the dream house he and Chanyeol had created in their minds when they planned out buying their first house together. 

A man opens the door and looks at Baekhyun. Baekhyun swears he’s seen this guy before somewhere... Yixing? He talked to him briefly during a Christmas party at the law firm. He seemed like a nice guy, looks like he’s Chanyeol’s guard or manager or something. 

“Name?” Yixing asks Baekhyun. 

“Byun Baekhyun, the interviewer for So Much blog” Baekhyun answers “I have an interview with Mr. Park Chanyeol at 11.”

“Right” Yixing nods “I was told you’d be here at 10:30, you’re here a little early.”

“Better early than waste Chanyeollie’s time right?” Baekhyun smiles “I mean Mr. Park’s time.”

“He wastes enough of his own time, trust me” Yixing laughs opening the door wider to invite Baekhyun in “I’ll take you to the living room, that’s where he planned to be interviewed.”

Baekhyun tries to keep his eyes from wandering too much when he enters the house to remain professional but everything is truly stunning. High ceilings and warm red walls compliments the art hung on it and overall French-style decor of the house. Baekhyun wonders if Chanyeol has an interior decor degree like he does in his universe but he hasn’t seen any information about it online. Baekhyun mentally adds it to his list of questions. 

Once Baekhyun is settled in the living room he goes over his questions making sure the wording is perfect, replaying how he’ll say it in his head and reviewing how he thinks Chanyeol will respond. 

“Hey sorry to keep you waiting” a deep voice says pulling Baekhyun away from his thoughts. 

When he looks up he sees Chanyeol smiling at him. Baekhyun’s heart stops beating. It takes almost every fibre in Baekhyun’s body to stop him from jumping up and pulling Chanyeol in for the tightest hug possible. Instead, he sits on the couch and smiles back at Chanyeol politely. 

“It’s no trouble at all” Baekhyun cooly answers “if you’re ready to start I’ll start recording.”

“Yeah sure” Chanyeol says, sitting on a nearby loveseat. 

“You’re allergic to both cats and dogs but as a kid, you still had pets around the house, how was that?” Baekhyun asks, ready to note down Chanyeol’s answer. 

Chanyeol smiles reminiscently before answering. 

The interview goes well, Chanyeol is happy to answer every question and Baekhyun’s sure the fans will be pleased with his answers. 

“One last question” Baekhyun smiles “Have you ever thought about going into voice acting? Surely with a voice as...”

Deep, warm and perfect...

“Nice as yours, the subject has come up before” Baekhyun finishes. 

“I have been asked before and I like the idea of it but I haven’t had the time for a project like that.” Chanyeol answers “I think it would be nice to be recognized as an actor without my face and height being a factor. Just my skills and effort. It would be nice.” 

“You’re certainly known for your talent” Baekhyun smiles “I’ve seen you act, you’re incredible.”

“It’s not as great as your questions. I don’t think I’ve ever had a better interview.” Chanyeol smiles brightly “you must have done a lot of research, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked those before. It’s nice to have someone ask such specific questions. Usually I get a lot of the same basic questions like “when did you decide to be an actor?” or “are you single?” It happens in almost every interview.” 

“I don’t think it’s any of our business if you’re single or not” Baekhyun replies. 

“Well I am” Chanyeol laughs. 

Baekhyun looks up at Chanyeol. He’s single? Maybe Baekhyun could ask him out-

“For a good reason” Chanyeol continues “I can’t devote myself to a relationship the way I should with a career like mine. I’d be working way too much and I couldn’t do that to a significant other. I should be there for them.”

“Right” Baekhyun nods, feeling his heart get trampled. He has no chance of dating Chanyeol AND he’s reminded of exactly why Chanyeol asked for a divorce in the first place. With the interview concluded Baekhyun is also reminded that he won’t get to talk to Chanyeol anymore. Although he tried not to Baekhyun may have deluded himself into thinking he could spend more time with Chanyeol, but with Chanyeol’s schedule, that’s obviously not the case. 

“Hey, are you ok?” Chanyeol says placing a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. 

“Huh? Oh, yeah” Baekhyun says realizing his emotions must have been pretty clear on his face “I... went through a divorce because I was too concentrated on my career.”

“Oh I’m sorry I didn’t mean to bring up old memories” Chanyeol says sympathetically. 

“Don’t worry about it” Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol forcing a smile “It was really my fault.”

To avoid telling Chanyeol everything and sounding insane, which Baekhyun is very close to doing, Baekhyun gets up off the couch with his things and gets ready to leave. 

“Thank you for your time” Baekhyun says politely “Good luck with your new movie.”

“Thanks” Chanyeol smiles “Good luck with your article.”

After that interview, Baekhyun doesn’t talk to Chanyeol again, which is to be expected. As difficult as it is to live without Chanyeol, he does get to see him and hear him on a daily basis. Being a fan isn’t as painful as Baekhyun thought. At first, it sucks to have a constant reminder that Chanyeol is living without Baekhyun but eventually he gets used to it. Just knowing Chanyeol is happy and well is enough. Watching Chanyeol laugh and smile is great even if he’s sharing with thousands of other fans. 

Though Baekhyun does certainly become a pretty dedicated fan, he never does fully dissociate himself from Chanyeol and still sort of sees him as his husband even though here he isn’t. Even after 3 months in this universe Baekhyun never stops hoping he’ll leave this world for one where he can be with Chanyeol.

Baekhyun has a suspicion that he’ll switch universes on December 24th but that gets shatters when he wakes up in the same bed on Christmas day. 

“Wake up sleepyhead!” Sehun says walking into Baekhyun’s bedroom. 

“Jesus!” Baekhyun says pulling his sheets up “Would you knock?”

“Like I haven’t seen it before?” Sehun laughs “Come on and get ready, I have some plans for today.”

“Can’t we just eat and open presents in our PJs?” Baekhyun whines. 

“Well first of all you aren’t wearing any PJs” Sehun says looking at Baekhyun’s bare chest “And no because we’re going on a road trip.”

“What? Why?” Baekhyun asks looking for his shirt on the ground so he can quickly pick it up and put it on so he’s less exposed. 

“Because you like the beach? And so do I?” Sehun asks a bit confused “I thought you’d be excited about this.”

“But it’s cold” Baekhyun says, pulling on his shirt. 

“I’d hardly count 30 degrees as cold” Sehun says with an eyebrow up “August isn’t exactly known for cold weather.”

“August” Baekhyun repeats, taken back... so he’s in a very similar alternate universe? “Right yeah.”

“Are you feeling ok?” Sehun says before sitting on Baekhyun’s bed “We can cancel and celebrate tomorrow.”

“No no I’m fine” Baekhyun shakes his head “Just still a little sleepy.”

“Great” Sehun smiles before leaning in and giving Baekhyun a quick peck on the lips. 

Baekhyun sits in his bed in shock as Sehun leaves the room as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Baekhyun’s not sure he’s going to like this universe. 

Baekhyun quickly gets dressed unsure of whether Sehun will walk back in and see him... less than clothed. Once he’s dressed Baekhyun walks out of his room and meets Sehun in the living room. 

“Ready?” Sehun asks. 

“Yup!” Baekhyun says excitedly. 

“Alright” Sehun says getting up before wrapping his arm around Baekhyun’s waist “Let’s get this started.”

Sehun kisses Baekhyun sweetly and as much as he doesn’t mean any harm Baekhyun is put in a bit of an uncomfortable position. He can’t tell Sehun he doesn’t want to kiss him because they are clearly in a relationship and it would be suspicious but he also doesn’t really want to be kissing one of his closest friends. 

“Beach time” Sehun smiles before letting Baekhyun go and picking up a bag, most likely full of beach things “Unless you want to open your gift first?”

“Sure” Baekhyun smiles. 

“Just so you know I did find your gift by accident” Sehun says making a face only Sehun could “hiding it in your dresser wasn’t exactly sneaky, I do want my sweaters back sometimes.”

“Oh oops” Baekhyun laughs. 

Baekhyun walks back into his bedroom and searches his dresser for the gift Sehun was talking about. He finds a wrapped box at the back of his shirt drawer. He brings it back out to Sehun and they exchange gifts. 

“Want to read your card first?” Sehun smiles expectantly

“Sure” Baekhyun smiles back. 

Baekhyun opens his card and looks at the colourful glitter covered front. 

“ _Happy 3 month anniversary_ , wow they have a card for that huh?” Baekhyun reads. 3 month anniversary with Sehun? Well, now he knows “ _Thank you for making me the luckiest boyfriend ever._ Very cute Sehun.”

“They didn’t have a card that said ‘second luckiest boyfriend’ because I mean I think we both know you’re a little luckier than me” Sehun teases “I’m quite the catch.” 

“Oh yeah and you’re also the humblest” Baekhyun rolls his eyes before opening his gift. 

“You know it” Sehun smiles. 

In the gift bag Baekhyun finds a shoebox. He takes it out and opens it to find a really nice pair of gold and black sneakers.

“I saw you looking at them in the store so I got them” Sehun explains “you did like them, right?”

“Of course I do Sehunnie!” Baekhyun answers looking at the amazing gift “they’re really nice. I hope you’ll like my gift as much.”

“We’ll see” Sehun teases before opening the card Baekhyun gave him “ _Happy Anniversary! These are technically not out yet so you’re getting an extra special gift. Pays to be with the co-director right?_ True free designer stuff is nice. Totally a reason to date you.”

Baekhyun rolls his eyes again before it dawns on him what Sehun said. He’s a director of a fashion company? Sehun pulls out two t-shirts. Each with a logo Baekhyun recognizes. Privé. Baekhyun always thought they had a nice style. 

“These are great” Sehun says smiling at the shirts “Do you want me to model them for you?”

“They aren’t exactly beachwear but you can do that when we get back home” Baekhyun answers. 

Baekhyun and Sehun get into Sehun’s car and start their little road trip to the beach. They play their songs loudly with the windows open and sing along as if no one can hear them. They’re having way too much fun to be embarrassed. Eventually they get to the beach and park the car. Baekhyun actually forgets they’re dating until Sehun kisses his cheek as they walk to the water's edge. 

Baekhyun’s not sure what to do about this dating Sehun thing. On one hand, he wants to play along just be the normal Baekhyun in this universe and not mess everything up, but he also feels like he’s cheating and it’s eating away at him. For now, he’ll try to keep everything PG but he’s not sure how long he can keep up the act. 

Throughout their date, Sehun is touchy and cuddly but that’s not unlike Sehun normally in the real universe. However, there were a few times Sehun tried to take things further and Baekhyun had to start getting creative. 

“I think it’s time to reapply our sunscreen” Sehun says pulling the tube out of their beach bag “we don’t want to get sunburnt.”

“That’s probably a good idea” Baekhyun nods in agreement. 

Sehun squirts some sunscreen into the palm of his hand. Baekhyun reaches for the tube but Sehun just puts it back in the bag out of Baekhyun’s reach. Baekhyun looks up at Sehun in confusion. Sehun just smirks back before taking some of the sunscreen and placing it directly on Baekhyun’s bicep. Sehun starts rubbing it all over Baekhyun’s arms and Baekhyun starts to panic as Sehun reaches towards Baekhyun’s chest. 

“I can do it, I’m not a child Sehun” Baekhyun says, taking the sunscreen from Sehun’s hand. 

“Oh?” Sehun smirks “Did you not like it?”

“I- Sehun we’re public” Baekhyun says looking at all the people on the beach. 

“So we should take this somewhere more private is what you’re saying?” Sehun says taking a step closer. 

“I mean that sounds fun but we can do that at your place. Do you know what we can’t do in your apartment?” Baekhyun says trying to change the subject. 

“What?” Sehun asks with a smile. 

“Eat ice cream on the beach!” Baekhyun says excitedly before pointing to the ice cream stand not too far from them. 

Sehun just laughs before stepping away from Baekhyun. 

“Ok we can go get ice cream” Sehun says before walking towards the stan “Can your short legs keep up?”

Baekhyun scoffs before running a bit to catch up. 

Baekhyun thinks he handled the date rather well. He only kissed Sehun once and he didn’t start a fight so it was mostly a success. Even though Baekhyun spent a lot of his time trying to avoid doing relationship things with Sehun he did have fun. Spending the day with his friend was really enjoyable. The weather was really nice too. 

Baekhyun barely thought about Chanyeol while he was with Sehun but once they get back home it’s all Baekhyun can think of. As soon as he gets a chance Baekhyun looks him up. 

Chanyeol is not a celebrity however they are following each other on social media. So they’re friends? Maybe if Baekhyun breaks up with Sehun he can date Chanyeol? They don’t seem to be that close though because Baekhyun doesn't have him on his contact list. 

However, Baekhyun does find Minseok’s phone number. He hasn’t talked to his best friend since this whole alternate universe thing started. Baekhyun hits call without knowing exactly what he’s going to talk about. Are they best friends in this universe or just co-workers or something. Oh no, what if he’s Baekhyun’s ex or something-

“Baek? It’s 3am is this an emergency or something?” Minseok’s voice says through the phone sounding really sleepy.

“3am?” Baekhyun asks, confused. 

“I know you suck at timezones but yes in LA it is currently 3am” Minseok laughs lightly “It’s fine I’m awake now anyway, what did you want?”

“I want to break up with Sehun” Baekhyun blurts. 

“Really?” Minseok sounds shocked “I thought you guys were in love?”

Love? Really?

“I think Sehun is... but I’m not” Baekhyun explains “I mean I do love him but just... not romantically? I love spending time with him and he’s one of my closest friends but I just...”

“Baekhyun were you ever into him?” Minseok asks “It sounds more like you were just friends with benefits.”

“I’m really a dick aren’t I?” Baekhyun says, realizing that he’s really leading Sehun on. 

“You need to talk to him” Minseok concludes “And I need to sleep.”

“Good night Minseok” Baekhyun says before hanging up. 

Baekhyun does think about breaking up with Sehun that night but it would be a bit heartless to break up with him the day of their anniversary right? 

The next day Baekhyun bullshits his way through work which works for the first day but he’s not sure how long telling his assistant to continue to push his meetings will work. Learning to be a baker with a close friend might be a bit easier than learning to run a company. But that is an issue for another day. Today Baekhyun just needs to talk to Sehun. 

Baekhyun knocks on Sehun’s door. He’s terrified but he needs to go through with this. 

“Hey” Sehun smiles opening the door “This is a surprise.”

“Yeah” Baekhyun bites his lip nervously. 

“Are you ok?” Sehun says, the smile fading from his face. 

“Um” Baekhyun says, trying to figure out how to this “Could I come in?”

“Sure” Sehun ushers Baekhyun. 

Baekhyun sits down on Sehun's couch and takes a deep breath. 

“Do you need something?” Sehun asks concerned “Water? Tea?”

“Sehun you have no idea how much I hate to do this.” Baekhyun says not finding the strength to look up at Sehun “I just l can’t do this to you anymore. We have to break up. I just... I don’t love you the way you do.”

“You d-don’t love me?” Sehun asks trying to stop the tears forming in his eyes “W-why did you say you did?” 

“It’s complicated” Baekhyun says, not knowing what to say “I tried, I really did but I just don’t feel the way you do. I love you as a friend Sehun, I thought it would evolve into something else but it just hasn’t. I’m so sorry I just couldn’t lead you on anymore.”

“You’re still not over Chanyeol are you?” Sehun laughs in pain as he wipes a tear. 

“How did you know?” Baekhyun asks, shocked. 

“I should have known. We got together too soon after you broke up with him. I don’t know why I thought it would be fine.” Sehun says softly “Jongin warned me not to be a rebound and I ignored him.”

“I’m so sorry Sehun” Baekhyun says, feeling awful “I shouldn’t have agreed until I was completely sure about it.”

“Just” Sehun takes a deep breath “Could you please leave I need to be alone.”

“Ok” Baekhyun says softly. 

Baekhyun gets up off the couch and walks towards the front door. Except when he opens in he’s not in Sehun’s apartment building’s hallway. Instead he’s looking at a bedroom with two double beds. 

Baekhyun turns around and sees he’s no longer in Sehun’s apartment. He's in a much _much_ larger apartment. 

“Goddammit, Jongdae it’s not even Christmas Eve!” Baekhyun grumbles. 

“Well duh it’s October” Jongdae laughs before walking into Baekhyun’s view “but why blame me for that.”

“Jongdae?” Baekhyun says with wide eyes “Thank god! Does that mean this nightmare is over?”

“If by nightmare you mean me not being here, yes it’s all solved now” Jongdae smiles “Gaze upon me all you want.”

“Send me home you dumb angel” Baekhyun says not willing to put up with bullshit “I’ve learned my lesson now let me go talk to Chanyeol.”

“Thanks for calling me an angel Baek I love you too” Jongdae says, sending him an air kiss “and if you want to talk to Chanyeol, I’m pretty sure he’s in the kitchen.” 

“Oh thank god” Baekhyun says before running off down the hall. 

Baekhyun quickly realizes he actually has no idea where the kitchen is. 

“Why are you running?” Sehun asks, stepping out of what looks like the bathroom. 

“Sehun!” Baekhyun says surprised “You’re here!” 

“Well yeah, I came home from the dance studio like an hour ago. I don’t need that much practice, it's just one solo performance” Sehun scoffs. 

“Dance?” Baekhyun asks before reprioritizing “Where’s Chanyeol?”

“You wanted to see me?” Chanyeol says walking into the hallway “What’s up?” 

Baekhyun doesn’t bother answering. He quickly wraps his arms around Chanyeol and smiles. It’s been over half a year since he’s been able to do that. 

“Did you have a beer or something?” Chanyeol asks, trying to wiggle out of the hug. 

“I missed you” Baekhyun says without realizing how dumb that must sound in this universe. 

“I saw you like 4 hours ago but ok?” Chanyeol laughs. 

“Baekhyun, what are you doing we’re supposed to leave to rehearse” Junmyeon says angrily. 

Jesus how many people are in this apartment. This might be an alternate universe but why would he need so many roommates but simultaneously have an extremely expensive-looking TV in the living room?

“Hurry the hell up!” Junmyeon says before walking away. 

“Yikes, I wonder what’s got him upset like that” Chanyeol winces. 

“Whatever it was, it wasn’t me this time” Sehun responds. 

“Oh, so you actually put your dishes in the sink?” Chanyeol questions. 

“Short answer: no BUT I have a reason-“ Sehun starts. 

“SEHUN YOU HAVE ONE JOB” Chanyeol yells. 

“I PRAY FOR YOU GUYS EVERY NIGHT-“ Sehun yells back. 

“BAEKHYUN!” Junmyeon yells loudly. 

Baekhyun quickly runs towards Junmyeon since he has no idea what’s going on between Sehun and Chanyeol. 

“Here!” Baekhyun says following the sound of Junmeyon's voice which coincidentally is right by the front door. 

“Let’s take your car” Junmyeon says after putting on his shoes “I don’t feel like driving.” 

“Alrighty” Baekhyun answers looking at the bowl full of car keys “my car...”

Mercedes, Audi, BMW... wow these are expensive. Baekhyun picks up the BMW keys hoping it’s the right ones. 

“Stop messing around” Junmyeon glares. 

Baekhyun giggles hoping Junmyeon will buy into the idea that Baekhyun’s just being a little shit. Based on Junmyeon’s eye roll, it worked. Baekhyun picks up the Audi keys and prays it’s the right ones this time. 

“Great let’s go” Junmyeon fake smiles. 

Baekhyun smiles. He got the right keys. 

Junmyeon walks fast so it’s believable that Baekhyun is trailing behind, which is great because he has literally no idea where they are going. 

They walk into an elevator and then out into the parking garage. Baekhyun hits the unlock button on his keys to find his car. Once he does he sees exactly what he’s driving. A black RS7. 

“That’s beautiful” Baekhyun whispers seeing his car “with red interior trim? Holy shit.”

“Yeah yeah, you love your car whatever let’s go” Junmyeon says getting into the car. 

“Right, yes let’s go rehearse” Baekhyun says remembering what Junmyeon said earlier “At...”

“The main building” Junmyeon answers. 

Baekhyun scrolls through his navigation menu for something matching the description of “main building” but doesn’t see it. 

“Where is it?” Baekhyun whispers. 

“You might need your eyes checked” Junmyeon laughs leaning forward and pressing the “SM” button on the screen. 

“Oh wow yeah, I totally missed that” Baekhyun laughs. 

SM? Like SM entertainment? Baekhyun’s suspicions are confirmed once he drives up to the building. They park in the employee parking lot in the basement. 

“We’re 20 minutes late” Junmyeon sighs “the managers are going to be so pissed.”

The boys walk into a nearby elevator and Junmyeon hits the button for floor 5. 

Managers. SM entertainment. Rehearsing. Expensive cars. Living with lots of people. He’s an idol. Baekhyun is an idol. Chanyeol is also an idol. They’re in a group together. 

“Baekhyun you just spaced out are you ok?” Junmyeon asks, waving a hand in front of Baekhyun. 

“Yeah sorry, I just have a lot on my mind.” Baekhyun smiles. 

“We all do” Junmyeon smiles back “but hey it’s just a concert and we’ve done plenty of them.”

“Still a lot of pressure,” Baekhyun says, trying to process his current situation. 

“Let’s just focus on this duet for now” Junmyeon says, placing a hand on his shoulder for comfort. 

Turns out pretending to be an idol isn't that hard. Baekhyun does know how to sing so it was just a matter of making excuses to listen to the song so he knows what to sing. Baekhyun’s regular talents seem to be amplified in this universe making hitting the high notes a breeze. 

After rehearsing the same ballad duet for hours they can finally go home. Junmyeon agrees to drive them back so Baekhyun can use his phone to figure out exactly what life he’s living. 

He types his name into Google and is greeted by a lot of responses. He’s a member of EXO apparently. Which Baekhyun has never heard of but it seems like a pretty decent name. He reads through the wiki and learns _a lot_. It looks like he’ll have to memorize a lot of information to fit in... and somehow learn all the choreographies. 

After having dinner with the group (he actually already knows all of the 8 other members which was surprising) Baekhyun starts researching EXO performances and they are really good. Baekhyun’s favourite might be Monster but it’s so hard to choose. Eventually, Baekhyun just starts watching Chanyeol fancams because why not and he stumbles upon a song called Artificial Love. 

Saying Baekhyun is captivated is an understatement. 

“What are you watching?” Chanyeol says leaning over Baekhyun’s shoulder. 

“JESUS CHRIST” Baekhyun screams, he had no idea Chanyeol was there. How long was Chanyeol there... watching Baekhyun watching... _that_. 

“Artificial Love?” Chanyeol asks. 

“I can explain-” Baekhyun starts.

“If you’re going to make fun of my moves again just do it quickly I want to sleep.” Chanyeol says before walking over to his bed. 

“Uh nah that’s fine just sleep” Baekhyun says trying to sound casual about the whole situation. 

“Really?” Chanyeol asks “Thanks bro.”

Bro? Really?

Since Chanyeol is going to sleep anyways Baekhyun puts his headphones back on and keeps watching more Chanyeol focuses. Of course, Baekhyun enjoys videos like The Eve but he also really loves watching Chanyeol just enjoy himself running around on stage like when they perform Run. Baekhyun may or may not have also watched some ChanBaek moment compilations. 

As far as Baekhyun can tell based off his chat with Chanyeol they are not dating and never had. Also Chanyeol doesn’t seem to have come out as pansexual in this universe... maybe he’s not even into guys in this universe. 

“Did you sleep?” Chanyeol says rubbing his face sleepily. 

“Oh shit” Baekhyun says looking at the sun rising through their bedroom window.

“You’re gonna be so dead today” Chanyeol laughs getting out of bed.

Chanyeol is right. Following the schedule of an idol with no sleep is an absolutely terrible idea. Luckily the members, managers and staff are all used to his whining so he’s free to speak his mind. 

Despite the tiring work, Baekhyun highly prefers this universe to any of the other ones. He gets to spend so much time with Chanyeol and even if they aren’t in a relationship, the hugs and cuddles are still really great. He missed being close with Chanyeol so much. After spending a month in this universe Baekhyun wonders whether he should try admitting his feelings to Chanyeol. Cuddles are fun and everything but it is hard to hear Chanyeol say “I love you” but not mean it in the same way Baekhyun does. 

“Wanna watch a movie?” Chanyeol asks Baekhyun. 

“Sure” Baekhyun shrugs. 

The two boys sit on the couch and put on a random movie from the Netflix for you section. Turns out to be a really bad movie but Baekhyun doesn’t care because they cuddle the whole time and he just likes being in Chanyeol’s arms. 

“You know you’ve been more cuddly recently” Chanyeol says “since this summer.”

“Chanyeol, I have feelings for you” Baekhyun admits not bothering to sugarcoat it, he wanted to admit it for a while now and this just gives him a way to do it. 

Chanyeol looks back at him confused, clearly not getting it. 

“Romantic feelings” Baekhyun clarifies. 

Chanyeol stays silent, opening his mouth a few times to try to reply before closing it again. 

“Baekhyun I um” Chanyeol says without looking at Baekhyun in the eye “I don’t see you that way, we’re like brothers, you know?”

“I had to try” Baekhyun forces a smile “but I get it.”

“This isn’t going to ruin everything is it?” Chanyeol asks, looking really sad. 

“No, not at all” Baekhyun smiles “I promise I won’t ignore you, I couldn’t if I tried you’re literally a giant and you’re so loud.”

“Like you’re so quiet yourself?” Chanyeol laughs seeming a little happier. 

“And that’s why Kyungsoo hates us” Baekhyun laughs. 

“You’re really ok?” Chanyeol asks bringing it back up. 

“Yeah” Baekhyun lies “I’ll be fine.”

“Good”

Only one more month until Baekhyun can switch to another universe. Hopefully, one where this one-sided love story isn’t so painful. At the start, Baekhyun was just happy to have Chanyeol but the more time he spends with Chanyeol the more he misses their relationship. It’s way harder to ignore when he interacts with Chanyeol every day. It hurts. 

“Merry Christmas” Chanyeol says getting into his bed. 

“Not yet but soon hopefully” Baekhyun mumbles back. 

“What?” Chanyeol asks. 

“Nothing. Good night Chanyeol” Baekhyun says “Merry Christmas.”

~=+•+=~

Just as Baekhyun thought he wakes up in a new bed. Well old bed really, it seems to be the bed he had 5 years ago before he married Chanyeol and they bought their house. Baekhyun gets up and looks around the room to confirm that that’s where he is and from the looks of it he’s right. If he’s back in this apartment does that mean he’s young in this universe? Baekhyun looks for a mirror but can’t really tell, he looks pretty much the same but he hasn’t aged much in 5 years either. 

As he’s used to doing, Baekhyun gets his phone and checks for clues about his life. His lock screen and home screen are his family’s corgi but the year is the same, 2019 and it’s, of course, September, not December. He also checks his birthday and it’s not any different, May 6th 1992, meaning he’s still 27. 

Leading Baekhyun to conclude that this is a universe where Chanyeol never made the first move and confessed and probably neither did Baekhyun. 

Baekhyun decides to see just how much is the same as 5 years ago in the real world and knocks on the apartment door across from his. 

“Baekhyun?” Baekhyun hears a familiar voice say before opening the door “Do you need more sugar?”

“No, I was just wondering if you were up” Baekhyun says smiling at his husband. 

“I wasn’t” Chanyeol grumbles. 

“Well now that you are, do you want to play Mario kart?” Baekhyun asks remembering how they bonded in the first place, video games and food. 

“Don’t you have class today? It’s Friday” Chanyeol says confused. 

“Oh yeah I’m gonna ditch” Baekhyun says casually, why is he still in school at 27? Overachiever much? One day off won’t hurt. 

“And the school is ok with that?” Chanyeol asks. 

“I mean why would they care?” Baekhyun shrugs “so Mario Kart?”

“Did you hit your head or something?” Chanyeol asks, looking puzzled. 

“Hmm, maybe I don’t remember” Baekhyun says hoping it’s a good excuse. 

“Maybe you should actually take a sick day and get an MRI” Chanyeol says. 

“Why do I need a sick day for school?” Baekhyun asks, what kind of school is he in?

“Well yeah that way they know to call a substitute for you” Chanyeol says looking a lot more worried than before “how hard did you hit your head?”

“Oh my god you’re right” Baekhyun says realizing he’s not in school, he’s teaching it “it’s all coming back to me now, don’t worry about it!”

“Um ok” Chanyeol says just as confused as before. 

Baekhyun heads back into his own apartment to get changed into a button-up and some dress pants, that’s what teachers wear, right? Then he runs down to the parking where he finds his old, awful car and drives to the address on his phone saved as “work”. When he arrives he finds out he’s an elementary school teacher, which is good because if he were a high school chemistry teacher those kids would have the absolute worst education. 

Baekhyun has to run around the school a bit to find a classroom with his name on it but eventually he does. Music class, this is going to be easy. Luckily he’s not actually late, maybe because he didn’t even have breakfast as he rushed out of his apartment. Within the hour though kids start to come in and Baekhyun gets ready to teach all the little kindergarteners. He has supplies in his desk for them. Today it turns out they are learning how to draw musical notes, just tracing them but they are only 4 after all. Baekhyun teaches the class how to do it using the board and once he’s done they spend the rest of the time tracing and colouring in the pages he put on all the little tables. It goes rather smoothly until a little fight breaks out. 

“That’s not true!” A girl yells “Mr. Baekhyun! He’s being mean to me!”

“What’s going on-“ Baekhyun starts walking over before seeing the little girl’s face from closer “Sooyoung?”

“He said I’m bad at drawing music because I don’t have any parents!” Sooyoung says, starting to cry. 

“Oh Honey” Baekhyun says picking up Sooyoung from her little chair to hug her “It’s ok shh-“

“I’m g-going t-to get p-parents” Sooyoung sobs “I’ll g-get adopted s-soon.”

“Of course you will” Baekhyun says comforting his daughter or not his daughter “You’re a wonderful little girl and any mommies or daddies would be lucky to have you as their daughter.”

Baekhyun ends up comforting Sooyoung until recess. Baekhyun totally forgets to discipline the kid who said that to her because he’s so focused on having Sooyoung back. Honestly, he has to work really hard to hold his own tears back because he really missed her and if she doesn’t have parents in this universe then Baekhyun is going to try to adopt her. He doesn’t tell Sooyoung that though, he can’t give her false hope in case it doesn’t work out. 

After recess, a new grade comes in and Baekhyun teaches them another random music thing. It’s a good thing he liked music class in high school and took a ton of piano lessons because it is very useful throughout the day. His idol training comes in handy too. 

Soon enough the day ends and Baekhyun returns to his apartment, but instead of going into his own place he knocks on Chanyeol’s door. 

“Uh, hey” Chanyeol answers. 

“I’m owed Mario Kart” Baekhyun smiles. 

“I mean I never agreed to that but” Chanyeol starts smiling back “that sounds good to me.”

The pattern starts after that day. Baekhyun goes to school and when he comes back he goes straight into Chanyeol’s apartment to play games. It feels natural because it’s pretty much exactly how they started getting close 7 years ago. Except they were both 20 and in university, but the details don’t matter. Baekhyun feels nostalgic bonding with Chanyeol again, which is a little weird because to Chanyeol it’s the first time they have “every night game night” as they called it. To Baekhyun it’s great to have a version of Chanyeol so close to his own. He’s actually a bit worried if he makes a move or becomes actually happy that Jongdae will zap him into a new universe. 

Baekhyun also spends his time in this universe trying to find a way to adopt Sooyoung but with the salary he has from being a teacher it’s just not possible, he’d have to move to a bigger place and adopting as a single parent is almost impossible. Maybe if he gets back to the real world he could do this, with Chanyeol. They certainly have the money and space. 

“Ha I won!” Chanyeol laughs “take that Byun!”

“Damn it” Baekhyun pouts. 

“You seem distracted today” Chanyeol notices. 

“I’m just thinking about one of my students” Baekhyun admits “She’s an orphan and she switched foster families a couple of months ago and she’s not coping well.”

“Oh I’m sorry that sucks” Chanyeol frowns “I don’t know much about that, I’ve always wanted kids but life didn’t really turn out that way.”

“You wanted kids?” Baekhyun asks. He knows Chanyeol does, they've discussed it before but they couldn’t get any with Baekhyun’s schedule. 

“Kids, a house, a spouse, maybe a dog I don’t know” Chanyeol says, not restarting another round “I was just waiting for the right person I guess but I never found them.”

“It’s not too late” Baekhyun says, getting Chanyeol’s attention “you can still find someone.”

“Who? I don’t know if you noticed but all our friends are already married” Chanyeol says flatly. 

“I’m not” Baekhyun says taking the risk Chanyeol once took a long time ago “Chanyeol I like you and I want everything you just described.”

“You?” Chanyeol says looking directly at Baekhyun with what looks like a bit of fear “are you sure?”

“It’s been years” Baekhyun admits “I was waiting for you to take a step but you never did.”

“Oh god I’m an idiot” Chanyeol says putting his head in his hands “all this time we could have been-“

“Please kiss me” Baekhyun says trying not to cry, he’s missed this so much “please Chanyeol”

Chanyeol turns back to look at Baekhyun and slowly moves closer but Baekhyun can take it anymore and closes the distance for a passionate kiss, nothing like their actual first kiss which was hesitant and a bit awkward. Baekhyun is channelling all his emotions into this, it’s been so so so many months since he’s had Chanyeol for himself and he’s not letting him go again. Damn that angel, Baekhyun doesn’t want to leave this universe but it’s not up to him. 

Suddenly everything goes white. Baekhyun shuts his eyes tightly because they start to hurt. Eventually he starts to open them and he sees Jongdae floating in front of him in a room of endless white. 

“Jongdae?” Baekhyun asks. 

“You’re done finally” Jongdae smiles “You’ve learned everything.”

“Am I dead?” Baekhyun asks, trying not to panic. 

“What? No!” Jongdae answers quickly “I’m just gonna do a little recap and put you back in the right universe.”

“Recap?” Baekhyun says getting a little angry “You messed with my life for _months_ and you’re just gonna do a little recap?”

“Well yeah. It had to be months or you wouldn’t really have learned. A Christmas carol is cute but not accurate.” Jongdae explains “In the first universe you learned what living in a world without Chanyeol would be like-”

“Why did he have to be dead for that though” Baekhyun says remembering the pain. 

“Don’t question my methods, I’m very well trained. Graduated top of my class.” Jongdae protests “Anyways, in the second universe you learned what loving Chanyeol in a one-sided way would be like. In the third you learned what being in a relationship with someone else is like or at least that you’re clearly not ready to move on.”

“Is that why it only lasted two days?” Baekhyun asks. 

“Yup, once you broke up with Sehun there was no reason to keep you there” Jongdae nods “In the fourth universe you learned what being just friends is like.”

“That sucked” Baekhyun comments. 

“Yes well don’t let it happen then” Jongdae replies “And in the last universe you learned or rather remembered what it’s like to fall in love with Chanyeol. All of these lessons are to show you why letting Chanyeol go is an absolutely terrible idea.”

“Pretty sure I knew that after the first week but thanks” Baekhyun scoffs “It’s over now right? I can go home?”

“Yes” Jongdae smiles “It can finally be Christmas day.”

Baekhyun is overcome with the same sleepy feeling he felt when this all first started. When he opens his eyes he’s in the guest bedroom. 

“Thank God” Baekhyun says before bolting out of his bed. 

He gets everything ready. Everything he’s planned for months. Everything he needs to win Chanyeol back. Baekhyun runs down the stairs and sees Chanyeol in the kitchen. 

“You’re up” Chanyeol says flatly “I’m making eggs but you can make whatever you want.”

“Eggs are fine” Baekhyun says before the biggest smile breaks out on his face. He’s back with his husband. His real husband. 

“Why are you smiling” Chanyeol says, knitting his eyebrows together. 

“I don’t want a divorce” Baekhyun says “I take it back.”

“It’s not really your choice, I can do it without you.” Chanyeol answers “Don’t you have to leave for work.”

“I quit my job” Baekhyun says “I sent the email before coming down.”

“What” Chanyeol says, his eyes widening “W-why? You were going to make a partner and you worked so hard for that. Baekhyun what are you going to do now?”

“Baker, blog writer, music teacher” Baekhyun smiles “I don’t care because I realized something, I don’t care about my job. I mean I like it but I _love_ you. If I have to choose between my job and you, I’ll pick you every time.”

“Are you sure?” Chanyeol asks as the tips of his ears flush red. 

“Chanyeol trust me there’s nothing I’m more sure of” Baekhyun says “What I want most in life is to be with you, I can’t let you slip away and I will never put my job above you again.”

“I don’t know if I can trust that” Chanyeol says, taking a deep breath. 

Baekhyun feels his heart squeeze tightly. He can’t have gone through all of that to lose Chanyeol again. 

“but it’s a start” Chanyeol says quietly.

“Does that mean we aren’t getting a divorce?” Baekhyun asks hopefully. 

“No divorce” Chanyeol smiles.

“I think you burnt the eggs” Baekhyun says, pointing to the pan. 

“Oh shit you’re right” Chanyeol says trying to scrape the eggs off with a spatula. 

It was December 24th when Baekhyun gave his husband an early Christmas gift: freedom. But it was Christmas day when Baekhyun gave his husband a much better gift: staying.

_A year and 5 months later_

Baekhyun has been planning this surprise vacation for months. He didn’t want to tell Chanyeol about it so he planned it with his best friends, Minseok and Sehun as well as one of his new friends that he’s quickly becoming very close with, Kyungsoo. Sure Baekhyun hated being thrown around different universes but he has to admit, it made his life so much better. 

“Where are we going?” Chanyeol smiles from the passenger seat. 

“Does the word surprise mean nothing to you?” Baekhyun laughs.

“It is 4am” Chanyeol says “There’s no logic in the world.”

“You’ll find out where we’re going soon enough” Baekhyun says before taking the highway exit towards the airport.

“The airport?” Chanyeol asks excitedly “We’re going to the airport?”

“Maybe” Baekhyun smiles. 

“Are we going to Seoul? Jeju?” Chanyeol keeps interrogating “Oh my God are we going to Paris? Wait no, Rome!”

“Keep your voice down” Baekhyun scolds “You know how Sooyoung is on planes, we need her to sleep now.”

“Daddy you're so loud!” Sooyoung says waking up “Appa tell Daddy to be quiet I’m sleeping.”

“How is that fair?” Baekhyun whines “Appa was the one being loud!”

“I’m her favourite that’s why” Chanyeol teases. 

“Shhh” Sooyoung says “I’m sleepy!”

“Ok we’ll be quiet” Baekhyun whispers. 

After a silence that lasts maybe 50 seconds, Chanyeol starts asking where they are going again. 

“So is it in Asia?” Chanyeol whispers. 

“Tokyo” Baekhyun gives in “We’re going to Tokyo.”

“Oh my God are we going to Disney?” Chanyeol asks, sounding more childish than their daughter. 

“DISNEY?” Sooyoung yells. 

“She’s not going back to sleep is she?” Baekhyun asks. 

“Nope” Chanyeol laughs. 

“Yes we’re going to Disney, Sooyoung” Baekhyun smiles, the surprise didn’t last long but Sooyoung and Chanyeol’s smiles make up for it. 

The end. 

(To be clear this is a “they lived happily ever after and went to Disney world” ending, Chanyeol will not die just because they have Sooyoung)

**Author's Note:**

> This was just a fun idea I had that I probably should have made longer but whatever short stories are fun too.


End file.
